Getting to Work with Central Maine Orthopaedics

Everyone has a story of how they found their current job. This is the hiring story of Will McClaran, Central Maine Orthopaedics' new Marketing Assistant.

Will grew up in the scenic coastal town of East Harpswell, Maine. After High School he chose to follow his dreams and attend college out of state, a decision that is made by 41 percent of Maine's college-bound high school graduates [PDF]. In 2008, he graduated from Nichols College (Dudley, MA) with a Bachelor's of Science in Business Administration with a specialization in Sport Management. Pursuing a career in professional sports, Will had early success in two of the country's largest cities, working in communications departments for New York Knicks and the New Orleans Hornets.

"The one aspect of this that I didn't anticipate is how lonely this could get, and I soon realized that I wanted to come home to Maine to pursue a successful professional career. The NBA, and pro sports in general, is a very tough industry. Many entry level jobs are contracted for a season and then you try to either find another contracted position, or if lucky enough, land a full time job. This often means moving to a new city each year.

"Moving that much is a catch 22 - it's so exciting to move to all these places and experience so many different cultures, but at the end of the day when your work is your life, and you don't get out as much as you want to, it's very lonely. I wanted to become established in a community both personally and professionally. I laugh about it now, but every time I was set to come home for a visit, I couldn't wait. I feel like I took Maine for granted when I was here, and didn't really learn to appreciate it until I came home. Although, the winter I lived in New Orleans, I really didn't miss the massive snow storms and shoveling for hours on end."

Moving back to Maine, Will found it difficult to find a job that matched his skill set and experience, but he continued to search for a career that would be the right fit for him. During his job search Will questioned his decision to move home. He thought that with his experience he would not have a problem finding a job. After a summer of not being able to find what he was looking for, he started to panic.

"I just began to think that I had no choice, and that this was reaffirming in my head that Maine is not the place to be for the industry I wanted to be working in. After going on several interviews, usually the first question asked is 'What are you doing back here?' Many people believed I was over-qualified for positions, which really frustrated me. I felt like I had been pigeon holed because my experience was so specific, I had enough experience to seem overqualified for some jobs, but not enough experience to land others."

At one point Will considered packing up and moving to Boston or back to NYC, and just trying to 'make it,' finding a job he may not have enjoyed just to pay the bills.

"I feel like the struggles I went through to find a job in Maine really make me appreciate it a lot more. I feel extremely fortunate that I can do what I love and live where I choose."

"Every time I was set to come home for a visit, I couldn't wait. I feel like I took Maine for granted when I was here, and didn't really learn to appreciate it until I came home.

In Will's opinion, the driving philosophy of CMO's staff is to ensure that the Central Maine community has local access to the same standard of care available in major metropolitan areas. To do this, they must work as a team. No one employee, or role, is more important than another. The team checks their egos at the door, and the only thing that matters is that CMO succeeds. If one person shines, then they all shine.

"I had been in so many situations in the past where egos ruled over everything, and a lot of people weren't willing to roll their sleeves up and help one another out. That's completely not the case here. I have people asking if they can help me on projects, and are willing to take on tasks that truly have nothing to do with their job description, but they do it because they know that it's about the company succeeding, not just one person or one department. It reminds me of a really successful sports team, so I guess in a way you could say I'm not that far away from what I had been doing in the past.

"The Marketing Assistant position at CMO is a newly created position in the company. Being the first to hold the position, I am able to be very creative in how I work on and complete projects. I enjoy the challenge of developing new processes to get the job done. I don't have a reference manual or guide; my job is make sure that at the end of the day, I'm doing my best to help CMO broaden their reach into the community with marketing and communications efforts.

"I am thrilled to have this opportunity, which I see myself holding for a long time, but more importantly, I am very happy to say that I was able to come home to Maine and begin, what I plan on being, a very successful professional career."

Central Maine Orthopaedics, P.A. (CMO) is one of the largest outpatient facilities dedicated to orthopaedics and musculoskeletal disease in New England.

Each member of the CMO team has a commitment to excellence and to offering a valued service to their patients.

By dedicating themselves to quality, the management, staff and health professionals of CMO pledge that each and every patient will receive exemplary care.

According to Human Resources Generalist, Janine Valliere, 40 percent of the current employees at CMO applied for their positions using the Apply Online feature.

Jeff Desmond graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a degree in communication. Jeff carved a place for himself in internet marketing, design, communications, copywriting, SEO, and personal and employment branding.